December 2025

Our December issue examines the flavours, practices and foodways that define Malaysian life, from home kitchens and inherited techniques to the diverse cultural influences that shape Penang’s palate.

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A publication of Penang Institute, Penang Monthly is the voice of Penang - an inspiring read for the curious Malaysian, featuring stories about the people, ideas, and issues shaping the state's well-being. Sign up for a free account to enjoy unlimited access to all our articles.

Cleaner, greener Penang

2 min read

Will Penangites finally learn to use the mysterious orange object? “It’s not easy being green,” sang Kermit the Frog, it hasn’t been for Penang either, and the state once dubbed the “rubbish bin of the Orient” by a former prime minister has struggled to live down this label.

by Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

A Personal Penang Treasure That Can Be Revived

7 min read

Kee Thuan Chye returns in his mind to the village his great-great-granddad built. Sungai Bakap, after being bypassed by development, has lost much of its past glory. But the Kee family home is still there, reeking of history and other fragrances, waiting for another turn in its fortunes.

by Kee Thuan Chye

Between faith and hope

7 min read

Forlorn letterboxes in a Rifle Range block.When Khoo Cheng See started the House of Hope five years ago, she had no idea what she was getting herself into...

by Rosalind Chua

Rosalind Chua

The man who industrialised Penang

6 min read

A politician may point the way, but without competent and dedicated civil servants to do the work, not much gets done. Luckily, Dr Lim Chong Eu had Chet Singh on his side.

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Good hearing and a light touch

11 min read

From the successful development of Korea’s steel and shipping industries to Israel’s software cluster, and from the US’s semiconductor giants to Japan’s automobile empire, the “visible hand” of government has been involved, and due credit is now being given them.

by Francis Hutchinson

Colonial Penang's pre-modern roots

3 min read

Penang under the East India Company 1786-1858Andrew BarberAB&A. 2009; Hard cover;160 pagesReview by Ooi Kee BengThe salience of the approach Barber ch...

by Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng

Moving beyond manufacturing

7 min read

AS A MAJOR manufacturing country, Malaysia is necessarily a huge market for many imported commodities. It is important to clearly identify the more expensive imported commodities in order to reduce Malaysia's dependence on imports.

by Carolyn Ch’ng Sue Ern

Carolyn Ch’ng Sue Ern

PSDC 3.0 - bridging the gap between Policy-making and industrial needs

4 min read

IN MARCH 2010, members of the PSDC Management Council were in Phuket for its highly important bi-annual Offsite Meeting. Such gatherings are now a tradition and are held in quiet retreats away from Penang.

by Poh Heem Heem

Poh Heem Heem

Information in restricted public space

7 min read

ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL pillars of any modern democracy is a free mass media. It is through transparent and responsible reporting by independent journalists that the public is provided with unbiased information and can form opinions based on it.

by Tricia Yeoh

The 1867 Penang riots

6 min read

FORTY-YEAR-OLD Lieutenant-Governor A.E.H. Anson, a veteran of the Crimean War, had just arrived in Penang to take up the appointment in early June, about two months after Sir Harry Ord from the Corps of Royal Engineers became Governor of the Straits Settlements.

by Yong Check Yoon

Yong Check Yoon

Curitiba: An Ideal City of Buses

4 min read

The standard of urban living nowadays is largely judged by public transport standards. George Town has a lot to learn from others, such as Brazil's Curitiba.

by Datuk Dr. Goh Ban Lee

Building the Penang Bridge

8 min read

Penang has a few iconic structures, the most photographed of which is the Penang Bridge, opened in September 1985. PEM talks to Liaw Yew Peng, the chief resident engineer for the project.

by Jeffrey Hardy Quah

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